Newsletter

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston speaks at the Georgia Young Farmers Association's 2014 annual convention at the Augusta Convention Center.

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston speaks at the Georgia Young Farmers Association's 2014 annual convention at the Augusta Convention Center.

A crowd applauds during Kingston's speech at the convention. The Republican said he would write Gov. Nathan Deal endorsing a work requirement for "able-bodied" people on food stamps. He tried but failed to get the measure in a federal farm bill.

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingstom speaks at the Georgia Young Farmers Association's 2014 annual convention at the Augusta Convention Center.

U.S. Rep Jack Kingston, who is running for U.S. Senate, answers a question during the Georgia Young Farmers Association's 2014 annual convention at the Augusta Convention Center on Friday, Jan. 31, 2014.

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston speaks at the Georgia Young Farmers Association's 2014 annual convention at the Augusta Convention Center.

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston speaks at the Georgia Young Farmers Association's 2014 annual convention at the Augusta Convention Center.

Speaking Friday at the Geor­gia Young Farmers Conven­­tion at the Augusta Conven­tion Center, Kingston said he will write a letter to Gov. Nathan Deal endorsing a work requirement for “able-bodied” individuals on food stamps. He unsuccessfully pushed for the measure in the $1 trillion farm bill that passed the U.S. House on Wednesday.

The Savannah Republican is one of eight candidates seeking to replace U.S. Sen. Saxby Cham­bliss, R-Ga., who is retiring.

The new five-year farm bill cut farm subsidies known as direct payments and authorized a $8 billion cut to the food stamp program.

Kingston, who wanted bigger cuts to food stamps, said nutrition and agriculture policy should not be included in the same bill.

“What happens when we do a farm bill is most of the energy is spent on the smallest part of it – production agriculture and conservation. That’s where all the debate is, but it’s only about 20 percent,” he said. “To me, if you split it up, each side could get a lot more scrutiny and it’d be a better product for both.”

Kingston, who recently spent $1.2 million on television commercials for his Senate campaign, said the crowded race is becoming a tough campaign.

“There’s a sense that our campaign is moving along so we get attacked by Repub­li­cans and Democrats,” he said. “We are going to try to continue to do what we are doing, which is talk directly to the people of Georgia.”

A 21-year veteran of the House, Kingston said he’s hoping to break up the Democrat-controlled Senate.

“What I have seen is so many of the reforms we pass out of the House get killed in the Senate. I really strongly believe that the battleground right now is in the Senate,” Kingston said. “We need to take the majority back and then have a change of leadership in the White House.”

ATLANTA — U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston opened himself up for criticism when he suggested poor children sweep cafeterias in exchange for free lunch, and he is now the target of an ad released Thursday by Eugene Yu, an Augusta businessman running against Kingston in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Kingston has said he was trying to show that freebies discourage a work ethic from developing in children and diminishes their self-worth.

Yu’s ad suggests the real answer is an economic one, playing up on his promise to bring back manufacturing jobs moved overseas in recent decades.

“Create an environment where companies can thrive and grow and get our unemployed back to work,” an announcer says in the ad. “It is time our congressmen learn there is no free lunch. It is time to clean house.”

In a telephone interview, Yu said, “The people are tired of all these career politicians. I don’t care what they say; they are looking purely for their own interests.”

Kingston, who is ahead in fundraising and at least one poll, announced this week that he is putting out more than $1.2 million for his own television commercials; however, he hasn’t released the scripts for the ads or provided details about their message.